Chapter 4: The Little Mermaid

Once upon a time, in a kingdom under the sea, there lived a Great Mer-King. The Mer-King was married to a powerful songstress with a voice without equal. With her almighty voice, the Songstress could touch the hearts of her citizens and bend sea monsters to her will to. 

The Mer-King had five daughters with this Songstress. Each of them was born one year apart, and they were soon to have a sixth child coming that year. Sadly, while the child was safely born, her mother died a maternal death giving birth. 

The kingdom wept for their queen that day. 

Who could raise their spirits with their hypnotic chants?

Who could protect the kingdom when it was under attack?

It was truly a dark day for the merfolk.

But where there is darkness, there is light. And soon, those tears of sorrow became tears of happiness. 

Why was that?

Because the Songstress’s last child not only inherited her mother’s looks but also her enchanting voice.

This was Ariel Hafgufa, the last child of the Mer-King, the youngest songstress to ever live, and the hope of the Mer-Kingdom.

But she was better known as the "Little Mermaid" by her folks.

Ariel was like an angel sent by Poseidon himself to guide them to a better life. Fueled by the love of her family, her people, and the loss of her mother, the Little Mermaid sang to the kingdom to honor her memory.

… Or at least that was what the propaganda would like you to believe.

In reality, the clear blue Mer-Kingdom held a darkness as black as the abyss.

The Mer-King was in actuality, a power-hungry tyrant who sought the power of sirens, who were special mermaids with the power to control minds with their voices alone. Once he found one, he forced an arranged marriage to claim her as his wife. 

Then he demanded the Songstress to sing to his people, brainwashing them to subservience. He ordered the subjugation of sea monsters to become personal tools for war. And to ensure she wouldn’t escape, he locked her away deep inside his castle. Only allowing her to leave when permitted. 

It was a hellish life that was only made worse when the Mer-King had his way with the Siren. Forcing her to make a child who would hopefully inherit the Siren's power as well. They repeated this pattern six times. Producing five failures, with one successfully inheriting the all-mighty power. Though the mother had to perish, it was a small price to pay for a replacement.

He would get another spare in time…

Throughout her childhood, Ariel was forced to follow a strict regiment to make her the ideal political tool for her father’s reign. To keep the people in check, she was forced to sing for them everyday. Disobedience meant immediate severe punishment, something she learned when her father whipped her for hours. Just for merely talking back.

Her life could be considered even worse than her mother’s because not only was she tormented by her instructors, but her sisters scorned her existence. Jealous that she wielded the Siren's powers, her sisters did everything in their power to ostracize her inside the castle. Forcing servants to act apathetic toward Ariel and snitching on those that helped her, they made sure that she had no friends even in her own home. 

The least she could keep for herself was a journal her mother used to read. A book about the surface and those that live above: Humanity.

Her mother was a curious mermaid who often visited the surface. Recording her findings in that book, she wrote about all the wondrous things she saw in the world above: pretty lights that were shot into the sky, strange movements called dancing performed by humans during festivals, and giant artificial leviathans that humans rode across the sea.

But what interested Ariel the most was the entry where her mother recorded something called a “Wedding” she witnessed near the shore of a beach.

This "Wedding" was a sacred ceremony where two people who loved each other would forge their bonds as eternal partners. They would be surrounded by friends and family who would support their love as the two partners live the rest of their lives together in peace.

This journal showed Ariel the wonders of the outside world, and most importantly, what love was.

“Perhaps if I leave this place, I can find love somewhere?” She thought to herself.

Sadly she knew that was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Even if she escaped, where would she go? The sea was vast but her father would pursue her to the ends of the earth just to lock her away again. She couldn’t live on dry land either because she lacked human legs, so she wouldn’t survive long up there.

So the Little Mermaid, at that time, merely wept in her room. Hoping that maybe she could find love in this underwater world.

But Ariel knew that there was no love in this place.

Her father saw her as a tool.

Her elder siblings hated her.

The servants were apathetic for fear of punishment.

And while the citizens saw her in a positive light, she knew all too well that their admiration for her was all fake.

There was nobody in this kingdom that would love her.

No one.

And much like a sinking ship, Ariel continued to dive further and further into the abyss as she despaired at that revelation. 

She wanted to disappear.

To melt into foam if it meant that she could be finally free from this hell.

Unfortunately, her wish never came true, and the need for love started to sputter out.

---

As the years went by and Ariel came of age, her curiosity for the surface world grew. So she learned to sneak out of the castle’s tight defenses in the dead of night. Looking for sunken ships to scavenge, she collected several doohickeys and trinkets from the surface.

Her sneak attempts were no small feat though, what with the countless patrols and security measures her father put to prevent her escape. But the more she practiced, the more skilled she had become in hiding her presence. It got so ridiculous that she even managed to haul an entire human statue into her room without anyone looking. 

She could probably escape whenever she wanted if she tried hard enough. 

But alas, her heart was chained down by the manifest destiny imposed on her long ago. While she knew well that she couldn’t escape her fate, she could find small comforts in collecting items made by humans.

In one of her times sneaking out, she saw a ship just above the surface. Curious, she swam up to take a closer look.

And when she put her head above the water for the first time, not only did she discover humans, she saw someone who made her heart skip a beat.

A beautiful prince with gorgeous blonde air, and eyes as blue as the sea. He had an aura of elegant grace that made her swoon just by looking at him. 

Ariel knew right then and there that she was in love with him. 

But her heart was conflicted for even though she admired the surface world, she was still a mermaid. 

And mermaids didn’t belong in the world above. 

Her lower body made sure of that.

The Little Mermaid decided that maybe it was ok just to look at him from afar, at least for tonight. She would etch his face into her brain so that she could draw it later. That way she could remember her first love. 

But as if Poseidon himself wanted to help her, a sudden storm came through and washed away the ship. The Prince fell overboard and was about to drown had Ariel not intervened at that moment. Carrying him back to shore, the Little Mermaid only fell even more in love with the prince as she got an even closer look at his chiseled face. It made him hard to let go of when she finally reached the beach. But when a group of young nuns came to investigate she quickly fled back to sea, leaving the young prince behind.

Ever since that day, the Prince has been on her mind constantly. Because of that, she was weirdly happy despite her less-than-ideal household. Even her singing sounded a lot more cheerful now that she was singing for someone. The mere thought of the prince provided a new drive that pushed her through those dark times. 

He had become the shining light of the abyss, and she was content that he existed somewhere in her heart.

Or at least until her 15th birthday, the day she would be considered an adult. when her father ordered her to come to the throne room. There she was told a horrible truth that made her pale as a dying jellyfish. 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I AM TO MARRY YOU!?” She screamed fearfully.

“Be silent, Child!” The Mer-King ordered. “I wanted to avoid this, but with no other sirens I have no choice!”

Ever since Ariel was born, the Mer-King ordered his most loyal servants to find an extra siren to become a spare Songstress. The servants looked to the ends of the sea to find them, but 15 years passed with nothing to show for it. So the Mer-King decided that he would seed his own daughter once she came of age

The news disgusted Ariel. She was always aware that her father was not a good man, but this was low even for the devil himself. The Mer-King didn’t care and merely locked her in her room until the ceremony was prepared. 

Fortunately, Ariel had already grown accustomed to escaping her father’s security measures and left the kingdom that very night and never looked back.

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The Little Mermaid stayed on the run for days. Her father's soldiers constantly chase her, without rest. She had wanted to avoid this runaway life at first, but her father had forced her hand. And she hated every moment of it.

The only place she could think of was to escape to the surface and find her prince. However, her mermaid physiology made that plan difficult to execute. 

Then one day, whilst hiding from her pursuers in a cave, she met an old sea witch who was uglier than an angler fish.

The Witch seemed to be expecting Ariel and welcomed her into her home. The Little Mermaid, who was usually cautious but exhausted from her journey, agreed to stay.

From there, Ariel and the Witch lived together, forming a close bond. The kind old witch became a good friend to Ariel and was a shoulder to cry on for all her hardships. The Little Mermaid told the witch everything about her past: Her cruel father, her abusive sisters, and even the arranged marriage not long ago. The old witch listened with patient ears.

Then, once the Little Mermaid told the Witch about her desire to be with a human prince, the Witch gave her the deal of the lifetime:

"Give me your voice, and I will grant you legs as graceful as the wind." 

Knowing the suffering her voice had caused her, the Little Mermaid immediately agreed.

And so the Sea Witch performed a dangerous surgical procedure to grant Ariel's request. 

The Witch was gracious enough to keep her unconscious for the entire process. 

Once she woke up on a familiar beach, much to her surprise, she saw that her fins were replaced with human legs. Ariel was ecstatic at first but when she looked at her reflection by the water, much to her horror, she witnessed her newly sown face. 

The Little Mermaid fell into tears at her new appearance but was quickly comforted by someone who happened to touch her shoulder. When she turned to look, she noticed that the one that was comforting her was none other than the prince himself. Ariel reeled back in fear, expecting the prince to stare at her with disgust. However, much to her surprise, the Prince gave her a warm smile and offered her a hand. 

The Little Mermaid’s heart swooned. She was already madly in love but he just kept getting better and better the more she got to know him. It made her so ecstatic that she started to dance so mesmerizingly, that the prince was lost in the way she moved. He immediately offered her to stay in the castle as a guest to which the mermaid nodded her head in agreement.

There Ariel lived in the Prince’s castle as a humble servant. The kind young man gave his parents a good word about her and she was offered a job in the kitchen. There she cooked meals for the royal family and learned the ways of the surface. She became close friends with the prince, to whom she danced every day for his enjoyment. While she couldn’t speak, she was just happy that she could be special to someone like the Prince. Life was swell for Ariel until she heard someone say something that she didn’t wish to hear…

“I love the Prince. He’s just so kind.” A young maid at the castle said aloud.

“Indeed, it's not hard to see why any woman would want to marry him." Another maid agreed.

Ariel's mind stopped upon hearing what they said.

Other women loving the Prince?

She was aware of the possibility, but the Prince was exceptionally kind to her.

…Or was he?

The Little Mermaid started to get paranoid.

Was the Prince seeing other women behind her back?

Was he treating other girls with the same kindness she showed her?

Did the Prince already have someone special in his heart other than her?

"… No." She thought to herself.

She didn't want anybody close to her Prince.

She was his special someone.

She wanted to be his Only special someone.

And so that night, when the two maids that were gossiping earlier were cleaning the kitchen, Ariel walked inside unnoticed.

Thanks to years of sneaking around her Father’s back, staying out of their line of sight was easy for her. And before they could realize she was even there in the first place, Ariel slit their throats with a nearby kitchen knife

The two whores lay on the ground as they grabbed their necks. Gasping for air, they couldn't even scream as the light faded from their eyes.

The Little Mermaid's sewed lips curled into a smile, satisfied with her work. She was hesitant to kill them at first but, when she thought about her beloved Prince, it was a lot easier than she had imagined.

Now all that was left to do was to dispose of their bodies. Normally this would be an incredibly hard task, as she would have to bring them outside the heavily fortified castle. However, seeing as how she was in a kitchen she didn't have to go anywhere…

The next day, Ariel prepared the royal family something special to eat: Meat Pies.

Curious, the Prince took a slice of the pie and was immediately enamored with the rich foreign flavor. His family, following suit, also had a taste and agreed with their son's statement.

They gave their compliments to the Chef, Ariel, and asked if it was possible to make more. The Little Mermaid enthusiastically nodded in agreement.

After she was dismissed from the dining hall, Ariel got to work and sharpened her knives. The Little Mermaid smiled as her plan went off without a hitch. 

She had chopped up the remains of those filthy wenches and used their flesh to make those meat pies. Using their clothes as fuel for the oven and cleaning off the bloodstains from last night, she was able to dispose all the evidence of her little misdeed. 

She didn't expect the Prince to like her dish so much though. Ariel wasn't confident with her cooking skills despite working in the kitchen. But when the Prince asked for more of Her dish, who was she to refuse?

Ariel picked up one of the kitchen knives and looked at her reflection. Deep in thought, she remembered how she got there and what she was going to do moving forward. She had endured much since her life began and she had a feeling things were going to get harder. But the thoughts of the Prince smiling at her gave her the courage to move forward. 

She would make that Pie for him and him alone.

And with so many possible rivals in this kingdom, she would have plenty of material to work with…

---

"Well, that's the Basic Plot anyway…" Mr. Anderson smiled. "What do ya think?"

Why-Dog looked at his master with eyes wider than plates. "... I just… What?"

The poor ugly mutt was still trying to process Ariel's backstory. He didn't know what to expect but he certainly wasn't expecting that.

Royal Conspiracies?

An Arranged Marriage with her Father?

Feeding human meat to other humans?

Just what the fuck is this shit?

"If you are worried about the cannibalism, it's pretty common in the Mer-Kingdom." The Cat explained. "Merfolk eats fish all the time, so humans eating human meat wasn’t anything different. "

"That… technically it was one of my concerns, but that doesn't fix how fucked up that is…" Why-Dog made a disgusted face.

"True…" Mr. Anderson nodded his head. "It does clear up how she can fight, right?"

"I guess…" Why-Dog looked at the fight below which seemed to have paused since they started talking. "Ariel started killing anyone that got close to the prince, and got really good at it."

"That explanation was a bit too abridged but you get the idea." Mr. Anderson applauded. "But it's much more than that…"

Suddenly Mr. Anderson stood up from his throne and walked to the edge of his platform. 

"Ariel is a monster born from exploitation and nurtured through years of suffering.

From that, she became a violent scourge that would slaughter anything that set her off.

Hidden inside that frail appearance lies an endless abyss capable of swallowing any hope. All you can do is pray for those that dare to stand in her way…"

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